1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rifle comprising a receiver, a firing mechanism mounted in the receiver, a barrel, which is detachably connected to the receiver, and a stock, which is detachably secured to the receiver by built-in catches or the like and covers the receiver and the barrel at least in part and is provided with a trigger mechanism and a magazine holder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such rifles have been disclosed, e.g., in Austrian Patent Specification 325,463 and in most cases constitute automatic rifles and have proved satisfactory because they are composed of individual units, which can conveniently be handled and consist of the receiver provided with the firing mechanism, the stock provided with the trigger mechanism and the magazine holder, and the barrel so that the rifle can relatively easily be taken apart into said units without a need for tools and loose parts other than said units will not be obtained by such disassembly. In the known rifles of that kind, the stock is made in one piece and the receiver is slidably inserted into said stock, which is expensive because it must specially be designed to permit such slidable insertion of the receiver into the stock. That specially designed stock adds to the overall length of the rifle and can cover only the rear portion of the rifle so that the stock can perform its desired guarding function only on that rear portion of the rifle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,290 discloses a rifle having a tripartite stock, a barrel, which is permanently connected to the receiver, and a tubular magazine, which is permanently mounted on the receiver. The stock comprises a butt part, which has an opening through which the magazine can be loaded, a top part, which carries the sight, and a bottom part, which is provided with the trigger mechanism. Said three parts of the stock are connected along their interfaces by key-groove joints and are connected to each other and to the receiver by separate coupling members between the piston part and the top and bottom parts, an end cap fitted on the top and bottom parts, a shoulder rest for the piston part, and associated fixing screws. Whereas that tripartite stock covers the firearm to a large extent, its manufacture is rather expensive, it can be taken apart and assembled only by complicated operations, for which tools are required, and it comprises loose parts, which can easily be lost.